经济学人27:一个给人启发的失误

 　　Finance and Economics；Short-selling litigation;An enlightening mistake;

　　财经；卖空交易诉讼；一个给人启发的失误；

　　Defence lawyers reveal more than they meant to in a closely watched legal case;

　　在一个备受关注的法律官司中，辩方律师所公开的消息比原本打算的更多；

　　A rare slip-up by lawyers has helped shed some light on a high-profile legal battle, the details of which some of the largest Wall Street firms have been fighting to keep under wraps. The case concerns allegations of illegal “naked” short selling, where the rules have been tightened¹ several times over the past seven years.

　　由律师造成的一个罕见疏漏帮助（人们）对一起备受瞩目的法律官司有所了解，华尔街的企业巨头们想方设法让当中一些细节得以保密。该案针对的指控是非法的裸卖空，涉及的法规在过去7年已被一次次收紧。

　　In 2007 Overstock sued 11 brokers², alleging³ that they had caused its share price to fall by helping⁴ their clients to naked-short the Utah-based retailer⁵. In a normal short sale, shares are borrowed (or at least “located”) with a broker’s help before being sold. In the naked version, there is no attempt to borrow or locate the stock. This can create “fails to deliver”, where the trade is not settled when it should be, and messes with the laws of supply and demand, allowing shorting to take place beyond the natural limits set by the number of borrowable shares.

　　2007年，Overstock公司起诉过11位经纪人，声称他们此前通过帮助客户裸卖空这家位于犹他州的零售商（的股票）而导致该公司股价下跌。在一项普通做空当中，股票先是在经纪人的帮助下被借入（或至少是“标的”）然后再卖掉。在裸卖空中，无须尝试借股或者标的股票。这就能够形成“无法交割”——交易本该完成却不能完成，也扰乱了供给需求规律，突破可借股票数量这一自然限制而允许发生做空。

　　As the pre-trial discovery period proceeded, Overstock narrowed its focus to two firms, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, now part of Bank of America. Before the case was set to go to trial in California, however, the judge dismissed it on jurisdictional⁶ grounds, ruling that not enough of the alleged⁷ wrongdoing had taken place in the state. Overstock appealed and pushed for all of the evidence to be unsealed. The defendants⁸ objected. Four media groups, including The Economist⁹, opposed a motion to seal on public-interest grounds. The judge decided¹⁰ that some of the documents should be released but stayed his ruling, pending¹¹ appeal.

　　随着审前证据公开阶段的展开，Overstock把焦点锁定在两家公司上：高盛和美林，后者现在已经成为美洲银行一部分。然而，在案件即将在加州进入审判阶段前，法官基于司法权的理由不予受理，裁定在该州发生的所谓违法行为（证据）不足。Overstock提起上诉并力争公开所有证据。被告方反对。包括经济学人在内的四家传媒集团反对以公共利益为由而封存证据的动议。法官判定部分档案应当被公布，但维持原判，中止诉讼程序。

　　That was how things stood until May 11th, when the defendants’ lawyers served the other parties in the case with their opposition¹² to a plaintiff’s motion. Inadvertently included in this was an unredacted version of an earlier filing by Overstock containing excerpts¹³ of e-mails from Goldman and Merrill employees.

　　（之前的）事情就是那样，直到5月11日被告方律师对原告的一项动议表示反对时却在该案上成全了对方。无意间把Overstock公司前期未修改的版本包含在当中，其中包括高盛和美林员工的电子邮件节选。

　　In these they discuss deliberately¹⁴ failing to settle client trades. One Merrill executive suggests the firm “might want to consider allowing…customers to fail,” to which a colleague replies: “We are going to look into that.” Another asks: “How and when can we prevent the delivery [of shares]?” To a question from a large client about efforts at “cleaning up” fails, a Goldman man says that “we will let you fail.” Compliance¹⁵ officers questioned this behaviour, according to the filing. One at Merrill is quoted calling it “totally unacceptable—we are failing when we have over a million shares of stock available.”

　　在这些（邮件）当中他们慎重讨论了客户交易无法完成一事。一位美林高层建议公司“也许想要考虑让客户（交易）失败，”一位同事则回复到：“我们将对此进行研究。”另一位问道：“我们能够何时、用怎样的方式防止股票交割？”针对一个由大客户提出的关于努力澄清（交易）失败的问题，一位高盛员工说道“我们将会让你（的股票交割）失败。”文件显示，合规性监察官员质疑这一行为。一位美林（监察员）被引述曾称此事 “绝对无法接受——我们手上有超过一百万股股票，但却不予交割。”

　　The e-mails also suggest close commercial links between the two firms and at least one trading outfit¹⁶ that was a target of regulatory probes into shorting violations¹⁷, SBA Trading. A Merrill employee forwards a sanctions order against SBA’s Scott Arenstein to a counterpart at Goldman, referring to Mr Arenstein as “our boy” and asking: “You think there will be any fallout on clearing firms?” In another e-mail, the deputy head of Goldman’s securities-lending group describes Mr Arenstein as being “the other side of a lot of our activity.”

　　电子邮件中同样暗示了存在于两家公司之间紧密的商业联系，以及至少一家受法规限制的交易机构——SBA交易正在探索违规卖空。一位美林员工向高盛的同行发出了对SBA的Scott Arenstein的批准命令，提及Arenstein先生是“我们的人”并质问“你以为清算公司还会有任何附带后果吗？”在另一封电子邮件中，高盛的证券借贷部副总把Arenstein先生描述为是“我们许多业务的对应方。”

　　Other missives suggest a cavalier attitude to the rules. The president of one of Merrill’s stock-clearing businesses responds to internal concerns about failed trades thus: “Fuck the compliance area—procedures, schmecedures.” He later assured the court that this statement was a joke, according to the filing.

　　其他信件则暗示了对法规的轻慢态度。美林公司一项股票清算业务的主席这样回应了关于交易失败的内部关注：“去他妈的合规性部分——方案、程序。”文件显示，他后来向法院保证说这句话是在开玩笑。

　　Goldman and Merrill deny that they participated in unlawful naked shorting. Their supporters argue that the legal action brought by Overstock is a crude tactic¹⁸ by its mercurial¹⁹ boss, Patrick Byrne, to divert attention from its long history of underperformance. Some question the link between failed trades and naked shorting.

　　高盛和美林否认他们参与了非法的裸卖空。他们的支持者辩护说这起由Overstock挑起的官司是该公司狡猾多端的老板Patrick Byrne的一个粗糙战术，旨在将注意力从该公司长期的欠佳表现转移开来。一些人质疑在交易失败与裸卖空之间的联系。

　　Nevertheless, the release of the e-mail excerpts will have done the brokers no favours. They suggest that trades were being intentionally²⁰ failed; that some of the firms’ internal policemen were unhappy with the explanations they received for the proliferation of fails; and that at least one executive had an unusual attitude towards compliance. The e-mails are just a small part of the material unearthed²¹ during the four-year discovery process. If the court of appeal unstays the partial unsealing order, there will be much more to pore over.

　　虽然如此，电子邮件节选内容的曝光对经纪人来说可不是好事。它们表明了交易是被故意搅黄的；一些公司内部监管人员对收到的交易失败扩大化的解释并不满意，而且至少有一位高管对合规性持不同寻常的态度。这些电子邮件只是这四年的证据公示阶段中众多被发掘出的材料中的冰山一角。如果上诉法院对有限的开启令不予支持，那么将会有更多材料等着细读。

1 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

2 brokers   

n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• The firm in question was Alsbery & Co., whiskey brokers. 那家公司叫阿尔斯伯里公司，经销威士忌。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• From time to time a telephone would ring in the brokers' offices. 那两排经纪人房间里不时响着叮令的电话。 来自子夜部分

3 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

6 jurisdictional   

adj. 司法权的，裁决权的，管辖权的

参考例句：

• In practice, however, this jurisdictional limit on administrative investigations is generally easy to satisfy. 然而在实践中，对行政调查的这种司法限制通常很容易符合规定标准。
• The jurisdictional amount is set by statute and is currently $80,000. 案件标的管辖权由法律规定，目前是80，000美元。 来自口语例句

7 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

8 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

9 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

12 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

13 excerpts   

n.摘录，摘要( excerpt的名词复数 )；节选（音乐，电影）片段

参考例句：

• Some excerpts from a Renaissance mass are spatchcocked into Gluck's pallid Don Juan music. 一些文艺复光时期的弥撒的选节被不适当地加入到了格鲁克平淡无味的唐璜音乐中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is editing together excerpts of some of his films. 他正在将自己制作的一些电影的片断进行剪辑合成。 来自辞典例句

14 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

15 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

16 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

17 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

18 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

19 mercurial   

adj.善变的，活泼的

参考例句：

• He was of a mercurial temperament and therefore unpredictable.他是个反复无常的人，因此对他的行为无法预言。
• Our desires and aversions are mercurial rulers.我们的欲望与嫌恶是变化无常的统治者。

20 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

21 unearthed   

出土的（考古）

参考例句：

• Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。